Tactical weapons such as the M16, M4 and AR15 are commonly relied on by law enforcement, security and military personnel. Depending on the operating environment, lighting, aiming and other such accessories may need to be conveniently and temporarily mounted to the weapon in order to maximize the operator's effectiveness.
Common conventional mounting rail systems often require the accessory to be mounted on the hand guard of the weapon, away from the forward 12 o'clock position. This is often done in order to avoid interfering with the sight picture through the front sight of the weapon. Mounting of an accessory in the 12 o'clock position is preferable in that it allows the weapon operator to lead around obstacles with the respective light, laser or other accessory, affording the weapon operator improved cover and reduced exposure to hostile fire. Positioning a light in the forward 12 o'clock position also greatly increases the contrast between the sights (dark) and the target (bright) when the light is used. A light placed in the 12 o'clock position does not cast shadows on the side of the front sight, which would otherwise cause distortion of the sight picture. Furthermore, a light accessory placed in the 12 o'clock position aids in the use of the modern forward support hand rifle/carbine firing grip.
Alternative mounting systems exist in the prior art which frequently require the addition of structural features which may add significant weight or bulk, thereby interfering with the operation of the weapon. Other alternatives exist which require the accessory mount to be attached directly to the barrel of the weapon, thereby allowing heat to more easily transfer from barrel through the mount and to the accessory, and allowing the mass of the mount and accessory to interfere with the harmonics of the barrel. Still other existing solutions require a permanent modification to be made to the host weapon, such as tapping one or more holes to accommodate threaded fasteners and the like. However, making such permanent modifications to particular host weapons is frequently prohibited, and may thereby preclude the adoption and use of such systems.
What is needed is a lightweight, unobstructive, inexpensive, rapidly deployable and removable weapon accessory mounting system for temporarily mounting an accessory on a host weapon in the forward 12 o'clock position, while minimizing interference with the weapon's barrel harmonics, shielding the accessory from barrel heat, and requiring no modification of the host weapon. Also desirable in such a system would be the ability to adjust the pitch angle of the mounting rail to correct for variances in the design and manufacturing of the respective host weapon.